


John

by agentsherlson



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-05
Updated: 2012-08-05
Packaged: 2017-11-11 11:32:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/478088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentsherlson/pseuds/agentsherlson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The only friend I recall<br/>was a soldier called John.</p>
            </blockquote>





	John

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on a poem I found called ‘skipper’. I’m not sure who the author is (I’m fairly sure it was an Australian poet) and I don’t claim any ownership of the poem. When I say based on, what I really mean is: It’s basically the poem but with a few replaced words. Enjoy.

The only friend I recall  
was a soldier called John. He had a limp  
with a stick to help,  
as if someone had knocked over and hurt  
my poor John. I don’t know  
when I met him, but there are pictures of my brother  
before he died  
with a young, lean soldier. I remember John  
differently. Once,  
I shouted at him for coming home –  
just outside the door,  
he deliberately stepped forward, and I warned him  
in scowling, vicious tones. After that,  
he didn’t come near me for days.  
Sometimes, though, I’d let him stay,  
and he’d help with a case or two. Then I’d snap at him,  
send him back out of Baker Street  
where he had no place to go  
except for the other apartment which he so despised.

Finally, he withered away from me,  
his brain a mess of corroded nerves. Watching him  
stumble drunkenly  
or crack his head against a wall,  
I feared I’d knock something loose,  
years before, and given him a world where facts  
were dull absurdities  
in death’s insurmountable logic… afterwards I decided,  
when I retired and left, I’d never have another friend.

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU where Sherlock is old (memories fading) and John has passed away from some form of brain tissue deterioration. If you know of the poem's author, please let me know so I can give credit where it's due. Thank you.


End file.
